The Carabao Cup is back.

Some clubs use the early rounds to give experience to young players, shake off the last of their pre‑season rust and perhaps sneak an early season upset, but that can also result in some staggering scorelines.

From 12‑goal thrillers to 10-0 humiliations and penalty shootouts that threaten to last almost as long as the match itself, the EFL Cup has had it all over the years.

Here’s a look at the some of the most wild games the competition has ever produced…

Round one, 13 August 2014, Victoria Road

Let’s start off with a bang and talk about the joint-highest scoring EFL Cup tie in history.

The tie between Dagenham & Redbridge, then in League Two, and a Brentford side recently promoted to the Championship may not have looked the most interesting on paper, but it certainly delivered a gripping match.

A remarkable match was level at 4-4 after 90 minutes and the goals kept coming in extra-time.

The Daggers took the lead for the first time in the 113th minute and looked set to progress as they led 6-5 late on, before Brentford’s Harlee Dean scored in the 117th minute to take the match to penalties.

After Jack Connors and Ashley Chambers missed for Dagenham, skipper Kevin O’Connor stepped up to score the winning spot-kick for Brentford.

Round two, 20 September 2005, Adams Park

Aston Villa manager David O’Leary admitted his side were “on the verge” of being part of a cup shock when they faced Wycombe Wanderers in 2005.

But having trailed the League Two side 3-1 at half-time, Villa responded with seven goals in the second half to secure the win.

Some Villa fans reacted angrily when goals from Nathan Tyson, Roger Johnson and Tommy Mooney put Wycombe in a strong position at the halfway stage.

But goals from Milan Baros and James Milner made it 3-3, before a Craig Easton own goal, two from Gareth Barry and further strikes from Milner and Steven Davis completed an emphatic turnaround.

Second round, second leg, 25 October 1983, Boleyn Ground

We’re going back to the days when the early rounds had two legs, the tournament was called the Milk Cup, and the day West Ham United recorded their record win.

There was little warning that an eye‑catching scoreline was coming, given John Lyall’s Division One leaders had only edged the first‑leg tie 2-1 at Fourth Division Bury.

But West Ham raced to a 5-0 half‑time lead, with Alvin Martin, Trevor Brooking and Tony Cottee tearing Bury apart.

Cottee completed his hat‑trick before the break and the Hammers were just as ruthless in the second half.

Cottee added his fourth, Alan Devonshire got another, Ray Stewart buried a penalty, and Brooking tapped in late on as West Ham reached double figures.

Fourth round, 30 October 2012, Madejski Stadium

An incredible match, the joint-highest scoring EFL Cup tie in history, and it took extra-time to find a winner.

Still without a win in their return to the Premier League, Reading threw away any joy their fans were feeling as they led Arsenal 4-0 by capitulating to lose 7-5.

Arsenal found themselves four down after 35 minutes, but Theo Walcott’s goal before half‑time sparked a comeback that dragged the match into extra-time.

Marouane Chamakh put Arsenal in front for the first time on the night with a goal in the first period of extra-time, only for Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak to make it 5-5.

But Walcott restored Arsenal’s lead before Chamakh completed the scoring.

A remarkable night was further added to by the faintly ridiculous moment when Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin threw their shirts into the crowd, thinking the match was over, only to have to awkwardly ask for them back once they realised extra‑time was still to come.

Semi-final first leg, 9 January 2019, Etihad Stadium

Burton Albion’s first major semi‑final was somewhat ruined as they were roundly thrashed by Manchester City.

The 3,000 Brewers fans had to battle some M6 chaos just to get there and some might have wished they’d stayed stuck in traffic.

Nigel Clough’s side had beaten a mixture of Premier League and Championship sides to get to the last four but were powerless to stop a rampant City side.

Gabriel Jesus scored four, with Kevin de Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez also scoring against the beleaguered League One side.

After Burton’s fairy tale cup run finally ended, Clough said that Pep Guardiola invited him in for a glass of wine and quipped he hoped the Spaniard had “more than a glass.”

The second leg finished 1-0 at the Pirelli Stadium, sealing a 10–0 aggregate victory for City.

Second round first leg, 23 September 1986, Anfield

League champions Liverpool showed their class with a 10-goal demolition of Fulham.

Steve McMahon scored four and missed a penalty as the Third Division side were swept aside at Anfield.

Ian Rush and John Wark struck early, Ronnie Whelan added a third, and McMahon scored either side of Wark’s second.

He hit the bar from the spot before making it seven, with further goals from Rush, McMahon and Nicol sealing the club’s biggest victory in domestic competition.

Liverpool then won the second leg 3-2, advancing 13-2 on aggregate.

Third round, 17 September 2024, Deepdale

Yes, 1-1 isn’t the most memorable scoreline, but the third-round tie between Preston North End and Fulham in 2024 makes it into the record books after producing the longest penalty shootout in the competition’s history.

A total of 34 spot kicks were taken – 31 of which were successfully converted – as Paul Heckingbottom’s men booked their place in round four.

Just when it seemed the shootout may never end, Fulham’s Timothy Castagne blazed his spot-kick over the bar and Preston midfielder Ryan Ledson – who scored the game’s opener in the 36th minute – fired in the decisive penalty.

The shootout eclipsed the previous record set in 2016 when Derby County beat Carlisle United 14-13 on penalties.